Bank of America, Syncora settle mortgage fraud lawsuit: sources

2 IN. DI LETTURA

A Bank of America logo can be seen in a bank branch in New York April 28, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging that its unit Countrywide Financial fraudulently misrepresented mortgage-backed securities insured by Syncora Guarantee, sources close to the settlement said.

The terms of the settlement were not immediately available.

In a filing in state court in New York on Tuesday, Syncora Guarantee, a unit of Syncora Holdings Ltd (SYCRF.PK), said it had agreed to discontinue the lawsuit.

Syncora was among bond insurers, including MBIA Inc (MBI.N), that sued Bank of America over representations made by Countrywide, a mortgage lender bought by Bank of America in 2008.

Syncora Guarantee sued Countrywide and Bank of America in 2009 to recover losses on billions of dollars of home loans made by Countrywide. Syncora claimed it was duped into insuring the mortgage-backed securities, saying Countrywide misrepresented the underlying mortgages.

“Countrywide, consistent with its business practices at the time, systematically ignored its own underwriting guidelines and made imprudent loans that no reasonable underwriter would have made,” Syncora said in its complaint.

Donald Hawthorne, an attorney for Syncora, declined to comment on the filing. Jonathan Rosenberg, an attorney for Bank of America, did not immediately return a call for comment.

The case is Syncora Guarantee Inc. v Countrywide Home Loans Inc., New York state Supreme Court, New York County, No. 650042/2009.